India’s consumer durables industry is valued at $9.7 billion as of 2015. This sector is expected to grow to $20.6 billion by 2020 and become the fifth largest in the world by 2025.
The consumer durables industry can be categorized into two segments:
- Consumer electronics (brown goods) – such as televisions, laptops, cameras, computers, and audio systems
- Consumer appliances (white goods) –washing machines, kitchen appliances, microwave ovens, cleaning equipment, air conditioners, and fans
About two-thirds of India’s consumer durables are currently sold in urban markets. The most popular consumer electronics are color television sets. Electric fans and air conditioners are popular due to India’s hot climate. Other top consumer durables include refrigerators and washing machines.
The majority of consumer durables production occurs in Delhi and Uttarakhand in the north, West Bengal in the east, Tamil Nadu in the south, and Maharashtra and Gujarat in the west.
Imports and Exports
India imports televisions, refrigerators, and air conditioners mainly from China and Southeast Asia. India also imports from Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Top component imports include compressors, evaporator coils, condenser coils, air conditioning and refrigerator chemicals (refrigerants), motors, LCD or LED panels, semiconductors, and electronic components.
India’s consumer durables exports include refrigerators and refrigerating equipment compressors, color TVs, air conditioner parts and compressors, and fully automatic washing machines. The U.A.E. is a major export location. The majority of white goods are exported to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations, countries which border India.
Some top domestic companies in India and their products include:
- Blue Star – central air conditioners, room air conditioners, commercial refrigerators, cold storages, and specialty cooling products such as process chillers and mortuary chambers
- Godrej Group – refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, DVD players, microwave ovens, audio-visual products, and digital-imaging products
- Onida Electronics – televisions, washing machines, air conditioners, microwave ovens, and mobile phones
- Videocon Industries Limited – televisions, DVD players, microwave ovens, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and power backup
Top foreign companies active in India’s consumer durables sector include:
- Whirlpool Corporation (U.S.) – home appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, water purifiers, and power backup
- LG Electronics (South Korea) – televisions, audio-visual solutions, computers, mobile phones, refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, air conditioners, and vacuum cleaners
- Samsung Group (South Korea) – mobile phones, digital cameras, camcorders, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and computers
- Daikin Industries, Ltd. (Japan) – air conditioners and cooling equipment
- Sony Corporation (Japan) – televisions, projectors, DVD players, audio systems, digital cameras, camcorders, and videogame products
- Philips N.V. (Netherlands) – televisions, home theater systems, DVD players, audio products, computers, and phones
